End of Team Rocket?
by Detective Desires
Summary: Ash and Pikachu go too far trying to defend themselves from Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth in a Pokemon battle. Jessie ends up in the hospital, and Ash ends up in danger of losing his Pokemon training license.
1. Chapter 1

James walked into the Pokemon center bedroom. They usually avoided non-Rocket sanctioned Pokemon centers and hospitals at all costs, but Jessie was in terrible shape after their latest blast off.

Jessie was lying there, nearly unconscious. Every now and again, she would let out a light groan.

"Ooohhh..." Jessie groaned.

"It's...it's going to be okay, Jessie?" James said. There was a lot of uncertainty in his voice.

"James? James?" Jessie said, her voice was straining, like she was in pain.

"Yes, Jessie?" James asked.

"Please, please...go...go get a nurse..." Jessie said before letting out more bitter groans.

Without another word, James ran to get Nurse Joy.

A minute after James left, the Pokemon center door opened.

"Blissey? Blissey? Bliss?" a Blissey said, a look of concern on her face.

Jessie's eyes fell on her, and she noticed her broken pendent.

 _Blissey, my Blissey_ Jessie thought weakly.

The two locked eyes with each other, and their facial expressions softened.

"Blissey Bliss?" the Pokemon asked.

The Pokemon gently removed Jessie's blankets to reveal blisters and burns covering her midsection.

"Blissey? _what happened to you, Jessie?"_ the Pokemon asked.

Jessie didn't know what the Pokemon said, but she read the concerned expression on its face.

"I...I think I'm dying..." Jessie said, breathing heavily.

"Blissey?" the Pokemon asked, this time with even more concern on its face.

"I'm sorry...for...for...what...I did to you the last time I saw you...I hope you realize, I...I did it to help you...if...Nurse Joy ...found ...out...about...the...food..." Jessie said weakly.

"Blissey Bliss _I forgive you, Jessie,"_ the Pokemon said.

Jessie felt a warm paw covering her hand and rubbing it gently.

"Blissey _don't die, Jessie,"_ the Pokemon said. Blissey put her paw on Jessie and tried to perform soft boiled. Jessie noticed the egg in Blissey's pouch glowing. Jessie felt a soothing warmth coming from the Pokemon. This move would recover a Pokemon, but it only made Jessie warm and restful. Her wounds remained, but they hurt less.

Just then, Meowth walked in on Jessie and Blissey.

"Blissey Blissey Blissey!" the Pokemon said, frantically waving its arms.

"She says you're hurt pretty bad. We need to get a human nurse," Meowth explained.

"James is..." Jessie groaned. She then passed out.

Just then, James and Nurse Joy walked into the room.

"Sorry I'm late...oh no! You need to go to the hospital right away! How long has she been like this?" Nurse Joy's usually calm voice and demeanor melted into mild shock and outrage when she saw Jessie's wounds, "call 911!" Nurse Joy shouted.

A few minutes later, an ambulance came, and Jessie was put on a stretcher. James rode with her, but Meowth agreed to stay with the Pokemon.

"Blissey Blissey? _Who did this to her?"_ Blissey demanded, her paws ready to do a double slap attack if she didn't like the answer.

"It was the twerps..." Meowth said.

"Blissey? _Who? Was it people or Pokemon?"_ Blissey growled.

Just then, the door burst open.

"Nurse Joy, I need you to heal my Pikachu. It was just involved in a very bad battle!" Ash said.

"Blissey Bliss _his Pokemon tend to be involved in "very bad battles" quite often!"_ Blissey sighed in disapproval.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Don't look now, but those are the twerps I was talking about," Meowth said in a low tone.

"Blissey? Bliss? _All of them? All of them attacked her?"_ Blissey asked, growling.

"No, not all of 'em, just the one with the blue vest and spiky hat hair," Meowth said.

"Blissey Bliss? _Did he do it alone, or were there Pokemon involved?"_

 _"_ Nya-just da Pikachu on his shoulder," Meowth said.

Blissey puffed herself up, scowled, and walked over to Ash and Pikachu.

"Oh, cool, a Blissey!" Ash said.

The Pokemon just scowled darkly at Ash. Ash smiled and laughed nervously.

"What's wrong? Uh, not in a good mood?" Ash asked.

Without warning, he was slapped across the face hard, hard enough to knock him down to the floor. The Pokemon then started growling and chattering angrily.

"Bliss! Blissey! Bliss! _this is a Pokemon center, so I'm required to treat your Pokemon, but I am not your friend,"_ the Pokemon growled.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked weakly.

Pikachu was very quickly treated and transferred to a recovery room.

Blissey walked in the door with some medicine.

"Pikachu! _Greetings!"_ Pikachu said.

Blissey simply scowled at the Pokemon.

" _Okay, maybe not in the best of moods today, huh?"_ Pikachu said.

That remark won Pikachu a double slap attack,

" _Ow...what did you do that for? I'm-I'm trying to recover..."_ Pikachu said.

Blissey offered the medicine in a quick robotic fashion and then scowled at Pikachu.

" _Did you attack a human recently?"_ the Blissey asked. It was more like an angry demand.

" _A...a human?"_ Pikachu asked innocently.

Blissey continued to scowl at Pikachu.

" _Yes, a human. One of my friends is seriously injured and her friend says that you and your trainer are the ones who attacked her!" Blissey growled._

 _"No! That can't be right?"_ Pikachu said.

 _"When you were training, are you sure one of your attacks didn't bounce off and hit someone standing on the sidelines?_ " Blissey asked.

"Pika... _I'm pretty sure. Ash can be kind of intense..."_ Pikachu said with a nervous laugh.

Blissey gave him another double slap attack and scowled at him.

" _I'm going to go ask the other Pokemon if they saw you attack a human, and if they did, you and your trainer are in big trouble..."_ Blissey said.

 _Trouble_ For some reason that word had an eerily familiar ring for Pikachu. _And make it double._

 _Team Rocket. I did attack a human!_ Pikachu thought frantically.

The little mouse Pokemon let out a worried "chaa..." as it lay its head on the pillow. Pikachu winced as it remembered the previous day's events.

 _"We've got your Pikachu!" Jessie yelled._

 _James was laughing and looking confident. Meowth was smiling some kind of Cheshire cat grin._

 _I was...I was in some kind of electricity proof cage. One of Ash's Pokemon freed me when they weren't looking. I made my move. We were just going to burst their balloon and send them "blasting off again" like we usually do, but then, I looked at Ash. I had never seen him so angry before._

 _"Pikachu, I'm sick and tired of these people trying to ruin everything we do. Get rid of 'em this time. Show no mercy!"_

 _He gave me some kind of awful looking grin that kind of mirrored Meowth's. Show no mercy? I started to feel Ash's anger surging through my own body like it was my own. I felt my face contort into that horrible smile Ash had on his face. I knew that he...he didn't really mean "show no mercy." He didn't want me to hurt them for real, but I...I couldn't control myself after that. I was so angry that I became something feral. I started thinking about all of the gym battles they stopped us from completing, the times they interrupted us at tournaments, the way they make themselves a constant nuisance in our lives, the way they deceive innocent Pokemon into doing their dirty work. I couldn't take it anymore. I was seething._

 _I let loose a huge thunder attack, probably bigger than I've ever unleashed before. When they were in a pile, unable to move, I unleashed another and another. I caught James and Meowth scurrying away to their balloon._

 _"Pika Pika chu? Leaving so soon?" I asked Meowth with a wicked grin on my face. Meowth looked at me with a scared expression and then continued running. I sent my electric attacks to the ground and tried to fry them as they were running. I turned it into a game. I-I was just so tired of all of it. I wanted to injure them this time. I wanted them to spend some time thinking about what they did to us day after day._

 _"How do you like this? Do you want to steal and hurt Pokemon now? Do you think these attacks are strong enough for you? Do you?" I asked, taunting them._

 _I noticed Jessie hadn't made it to the balloon yet. I walked over to her and gave her a wicked smile. She smiled nervously at me and tried to pull herself up to get away. I offered her my tail and then tried to fry her clothes with my powerful electric attacks. I noticed that I had an audience of other Pokemon. They were...were they cheering for me?_

 _"Ho-ho! That'll show Team Rocket!" some of the other creatures around us said. It briefly crossed my mind that no one was against this._

 _Without the command from my trainer, I felt my tail starting to glow for an iron tail attack. I launched myself right into Jessie's stomach before I knew what I was doing. I iron tailed her, and I felt...something give. Startled, I backed away. Jessie slowly made it to the balloon while holding her stomach._

 _For some reason, though, I started feeling awful, like like I was the criminal and not them. I tried to ignore it. I knew these attacks wouldn't hurt Pokemon too badly, but they would feel them after the treatments wore off. The same...the same should go for humans, too, right?_

 _Ash wasn't finished, though._

 _I stopped attacking and tried to warn him in Pokemon language, "I think they've had enough," but he didn't really understand me this time._

 _"Now, Pikachu," my trainer said with that look in his eye he had the day he threw Primeape into that pit with them, "thunder!"_

 _I obeyed. There was an explosion, and they were hurled into the air. This time, though, no one said anything. Instead, I heard crying and moaning. Briefly I felt sorry for them._

 _Ash laughed. "Good job Pikachu," I heard him say._

 _I smiled, thinking maybe maybe I just taught them a lesson, but what what if I did more than that? I had this dark sick feeling in my tummy._

Pikachu awoke from its flashback in a cold sweat. It looked around and remembered where it was.

 _Oh yeah, the Pokemon center. Why does my head hurt so badly?_ Pikachu asked himself.

Blissey's angry words echoed in his ears and he felt his stomach tighten.

"Chu..." Pikachu said to himself.

* * *

Meowth was walking towards the hospital where Jessie was supposed to be.

"Blissey Blissey!" the Pokemon called.

"It's late. Why don't you go back to the Pokemon center?" Meowth asked.

"Blissey Blissey _I want to check on Jessie,"_ the Pokemon said.

"I'm not sure, but I tank we might have a hard time jus gettin in. Some places don't allow Pokemon if dey ain't in dere balls," Meowth said.

"Blissey Bliss..."

"I hope dey make an exception, too, but dey ain't no guarantees," Meowth said.

The two Pokemon made it to the hospital where Jessie was. Meowth walked in on four legs. It was rare for him, and he hoped no one would notice. Blissey ambled in behind him.

"Huh? who let a Meowth in here?" someone asked.

"Get out of here, you mangy fur ball!"

Meowth bristled and flinched. He felt his claws getting ready for a fury swipes attack.

 _No. No. You haf ta control yourself._

The cat Pokemon made his way to the front desk.

"Meow? Um, I'm sorry. I...we...we were jus wonderin if we could see our friend," Meowth finally said.

The lady at the front desk looked up and saw the cat Pokemon.

"Please, she's badly injured," Meowth said.

"Hey? Did that Meowth just talk?" the girl at the front desk said.

"It sure did!" the other girl at the front desk said.

 _Oh brother, here we go with this again._ Meowth thought.

"Look, can you all admire me another time? My friend is here and she's very sick. I know you don't usually allow Pokemon in human healing places, but please, please, let me see her. This this might be my last time to see her," Meowth said, tears in his eyes.

"Blissey!" Blissey cried.

"This Blissey is concerned about her, too!" Meowth said.

A nurse passing by cleared her throat.

"We're going to make an exception this one time, since the Blissey works at a Pokemon center and the Meowth can talk," the nurse said to the lady at the front desk.

"Hey, if those are the rules. I guess I'm okay with it," the woman at the front desk said with a shrug.

The people in the waiting room became a gaping audience.

"Hey, they would allow these Pokemon if they were assistance Pokemon, so...why not?" the lady at the front desk said. The room fell silent as they watched Meowth and Blissey follow the nurse.

"You know, you could have just worn a disguise," the nurse said with a smirk.

Meowth thought he recognized her voice.

"D-domino?" Meowth asked.

"In the flesh," she said with a smirk.

"What are you doing dressed as a nurse?" Meowth asked.

"Blissey?" Blissey asked.

"That's none of your business," Domino said.

"Does it haf ta do wit Jessie, because if it does, then it is," Meowth said.

"The boss got word that a member of our organization was in bad shape. He wanted those of us who were working close to check it out. This disguise is mission related. That's all I can tell you," Domino said.

"Oh, fur a minute dere I thought you cared," Meowth said.

"About the mission only, Meowth. Using civilian hospitals is a risk that should be avoided at all costs, and if someone part of the organization dies, their deaths have to be confirmed," Domino said, "we can't have people faking their own deaths to leave Team Rocket and join rival organizations. We have to guard our secrets at all costs."

 _Dat's really kind of paranoid, if you ask me._ Meowth thought.

"In utta words, it's jus business," Meowth groaned.

Once they reached the hospital room, they found Jessie was fading fast. She was coughing up blood and had an irregular heartbeat. The wound on her torso was sore and infected.

"Ooohhhh!" Jessie groaned. The groans were loud and unsettling.

She couldn't stop moaning and groaning in pain.

Domino, Meowth, and Blissey stood in the room, their ears being assaulted by a chorus of bleeping machines, labored breathing, and groans.

Jessie caught Domino's eye and gave her a look of surprise.

"D-Domino?" Jessie asked, easily seeing through nurse the disguise.

"Shhh! Use the name written on the wall," Domino growled.

"S-sorry, I can't see it," Jessie wheezed.

"It says, "Nurse Wallace," Meowth informed her.

"Oh, okay, nurse, may I have a glass of water?" Jessie asked, giving a smirk, despite looking terrible.

"I'm only here to make a report to the boss," Domino whispered.

"Then, could you get a real nurse, please?" Jessie asked.

Jessie groaned and held her stomach and winced. She started breathing fast.

"It sounds like you're in a lot of pain," Domino said flatly. It was more of an observation, not a consolation.

Domino removed the blanket to see several stitches in her stomach area, as well as several painful dark bruised areas.

"Wow, did you get in a battle with a whole family of Ursaring?" Domino asked.

"Dat kid wit da Pikachu did dis ta her," Meowth informed them.

"A Pikachu did all of this damage?" Domino asked, a hint of surprise in her voice, "we might want to snag that one for the boss, then."

Jessie winced at the remark.

"Dat's what got us here in da first place," Meowth whispered.

Domino ignored him.

"Yeah...well, I have enough for my report," Domino said flatly, "report back to headquarters immediately after all of this is over, regardless of the outcomes."

Domino looked at Jessie.

"Good luck, Jessie," Domino whispered.

Meowth was a little put off by the coldness, but the kid seemed just a little empathetic. She was hiding it really well the whole time, but it was still there. It was good that they didn't send someone like the current Team Rocket admins to make the report. Petrel and Proton would have actually enjoyed her suffering, for example.

The cat Pokemon shuddered.

 _Some members of this organization are real sickos._ Meowth thought.

Just then, James came in in a nurse's outfit.

"Jessie, I brought you some cold water," James said quietly.

Meowth just looked at James and rolled his eyes. Part of him wanted to use fury swipes and take the ridiculous disguise off of him.

 _Dis guy's tryin ta fool people jus fa the fun of it!_ Meowth thought.

"What do you think you're doing?" Meowth asked.

"I thought I would put on a disguise so that they wouldn't recognize me," James said with a dopey grin.

"Impersonating a doctor or nurse is against da law, genius, an we ain't supposed ta be callin more attention ta ourselves" Meowth growled, "now, go change before I rip it off of youse."

James winced as he looked at the cat Pokemon's sharp glowing claws. Quickly, James stumbled to the bathroom and reappeared about a minute later in rare civilian clothes. They were instructed not to wear their Team Rocket uniforms.

"How's she doing?" Meowth asked.

"The doctor says...I...I would rather tell you outside, Meowth," James said.

Jessie rolled over.

"Come on James, I can take it. How long do I have?" Jessie said with a smirk. Her confident smile soon turned into another wince, though.

"I really do think we should step outside," James said, ignoring Jessie, "in fact maybe I should let the doctor tell you himself."

James and Meowth stepped outside Jessie's hospital room. James started having an uncomfortable memory from earlier that day.

 _Excuse me, are you her immediate family? the doctor asked._

 _James nodded even though they weren't actually related. He was the only family she knew, after all._

 _"I'm afraid I've got some bad news. It looks like the iron tail attack combined with a thunder attack when it sliced her open. She's going to take a long time to recover...if...if she ever does recover. I'm afraid the electricity damaged some vital nerves. She may not ever be able to walk again," the doctor said, "but that's not the worst part, she's got a very bad infection, and it hasn't been responding to antibiotics. If we can't get that under control she may only last a few hours," the doctor said._

James waited at the nurse's station. Finally, he saw the man in the white lab coat approaching.

"How is she doing, doctor?" James asked.

"The infection hasn't spread but it also hasn't responded to antibiotics. It could go either way," the doctor said flatly.

"What does he mean 'either way?'" Meowth asked.

"Oh, and we don't allow pets in the hospital," the doctor said while looking at Blissey and Meowth.

 _Pet? pet? Did he just call me a pet?_ Meowth thought.

"Next time, either keep them in a Poke Ball or keep them outside," the doctor said as he walked away.

James sighed.

"Well, I guess dat's our cue ta leave. Please tell us how Jessie's doin if anyting changes," Meowth said.

"Keep your burner on," James said.

"Blissey? _what's a burner?"_

"Meow meow _it's another word fur phone,"_ Meowth said in Pokemon language.

Blissey and Meowth carefully walked out of the hospital. They had managed to get away with only a few stares and odd looks.

Meowth stopped and started panting for air once they were outside.

"Blissey? Bliss? Blissey? _Are you okay? I can perform soft boiled to help you out if you want,"_ Blissey asked.

Meowth tried to stop panting.

"No, I'm okay. It's just dat I was tryin' ta get outta da human hospital as fast as I could. I didn't want 'em ta throw us out," Meowth said.

"Blissey bliss blissey bliss sea _at least you have the ability to talk to them in their language. I can't even tell them why or what,"_ Blissey said.

"No guarantees you'd learn it, but I could try ta teach you if you want," Meowth said. The cat Pokemon was feeling extra generous and strange. The idea of losing Jessie was making him rethink his life choices. Right now, he really just wanted to make some new friends.

The Blissey giggled.

" _I think I'm okay. At least Nurse Joy seems to be able to understand me,"_ Blissey said.

"Speaking a Nurse Joy...I'm kinda gonna need a place ta stay...do you tank maybe Nurse Joy will let me stay at the Pokemon center?" Meowth asked.

" _I don't see why not, but I've been wrong before_ ," Blissey said. Images of the Johto Pokemon center and accidentally giving all of the center's food to Jessie and her friends flashed into the Pokemon's mind.

Blissey nervously played with the pendent around her neck. Meowth noticed it.

"Stop dwellin on da past," Meowth said.

" _I'm glad you three were there. If it wasn't for you, I would have lost my job,"_ Blissey said _, "I'm sorry for messing up in the first place. I'm glad you were there to bail me out."_

 _"_ Don't tank me; tank Jessie," Meowth said, only realizing where he had taken himself after the words came out of his mouth. Tears were filling the cat Pokemon's eyes as he remembered Jessie.

They arrived at the Pokemon center. Meowth was still crying.

"Blissey, what's wrong with that Meowth?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm jus sad because one a my friends is sick," Meowth said.

Nurse Joy's mouth briefly hung open.

"You can talk?" Nurse Joy asked, slightly stunned.

 _Oy, if i had a dollar fur every time someone asked me dat, I'd be rich._ Meowth thought.

Nurse Joy noticed tears in Blissey's eyes.

"Blissey, what's wrong with you?" Nurse Joy asked while cradling the Pokemon's head in her arms.

"Da person in da hospital is also an old friend a Blissey's, too" Meowth said.

Blissey pulled away from Nurse Joy and nodded her head.

"We were wonderin if maybe you could let me stay here until my friend gets better?" Meowth asked his damp eyes pleading.

"Blissey Blissey," the Pokemon said, agreeing with him.

"I don't see why not," Nurse Joy said, "of course, I may need some help around here from time to time."

Meowth sighed. A little work in return for food and shelter wasn't a bad trade.

"Blissey! blissey! _wonderful! now you can tell me everything that happened to Jessie after nursing school,"_ Blissey said.

Meowth smiled.

 _Oy, dat's a set a stories dat's best saved fur later, way later._ Meowth thought.

Blissey clapped her hands together. There was a huge smile on her face.

"Blissey seems happier than usual. You must be good friends," Nurse Joy said absentmindedly.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Based on a few comments I've received, I guess I should put a content warning somewhere in this and a few of the proceeding chapters. Also, I'm open to any story suggestions / ideas for changes if I think they would fit well in this story. Just tell me what you want to happen.

Continuities:

This is not from the rebooted Pokemon anime that follows the story line of Pokemon: I Choose You, so Ash does not have a Ho-Oh feather. If you would like for Ash to have a Ho-Oh feather, let me know.

Content warning:

Things get dicey for Ash. The legendary Pokemon, except maybe for Mew, aren't intervening at this point because they just aren't aware of it.

* * *

It was almost morning. There was one hour before the Pokemon center officially reopened. Blissey was still out asking the other Pokemon what they saw.

" _Yeah, there was this boy and this Pikachu, but but the only people who got attacked were a couple of Team Rocket members,_ " a Rattata said.

" _Did one of these Team Rocket members have long red hair?_ " Blissey asked.

" _Yep,_ " the Rattata said.

Blissey frowned and made an angry scowl while she marched back to the Pokemon center. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she was shaking with anger and sadness. Other Pokemon started to come out and ask her what was wrong.

 _"This kid and his Pikachu attacked my friend, and now I think she's dying,"_ Blissey responded.

" _That's terrible. We don't allow humans to act so irresponsibly here. Point him out, and we'll deal with him!"_ one of the Pokemon said.

" _We'll also tell our friends,"_ another Pokemon said.

 _"I don't know where he went. I wish I could find him. I would gladly point him out to you,_ " Blissey said.

Just then, as if on cue, Ash and Pikachu walked by.

" _That's them,_ " Blissey said, while pointing to the pair.

" _That kid might want to go back to wherever he came from; we don't tolerate bullies around here_ ," a Pokemon growled.

Blissey was happy to have someone listen to her. She explained what she saw as her version of events. The Pokemon who heard it told their friends, and pretty soon, there was a pretty nasty rumor going around about the trainer from Pallet Town.

* * *

As Ash and Pikachu were walking, suddenly, the night got quieter. Pikachu was perched nervously on Ash's shoulder.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"Pika..." Pikachu groaned. The Pokemon weren't only chatty; they were angry, and their anger was focused directly on them for some reason.

" _I think you know why you should be worried, mouse,_ " a Rattata said.

" _You and your trainer should be ashamed of yourselves, attacking a poor defenseless human,_ " an Ekans hissed.

" _I heard he attacked a child, too!_ " another Pokemon said.

" _How would you like to be attacked yourselves?_ " a Spearow threatened.

" _I think that would be a fitting punishment for you two,"_ a Beedrill said.

"Wow, the forest sure is...lively tonight, isn't it Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Pikachu was frozen like a statue on Ash's shoulder. It was trembling like a leaf.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked again.

" _Allow me to answer that!_ " a Beedrill screamed as it flew from the bushes.

Ash ducked and Pikachu leaped up and shocked it, paralyzing it and stopping it from flying.

Suddenly, Pikachu heard a much louder buzzing.

 _"Oh no! it's a whole swarm!"_ Pikachu said.

Ash looked up and froze.

"Let's run for it!" Ash yelled.

" _Oh no you don't!"_ the swarm screamed.

Ash ducked and the swarm dive bombed him, some of their stingers sticking into the ground.

Pikachu and Ash rolled away to the nearest bush, hoping to lose them. Their troubles weren't over yet, though.

"Ouch!" Ash yelled. Quickly he pulled back his fingers to discover blood and a painful little bite mark.

"Rattata! _that should teach you, human!" a Rattata hissed,_ Ash's blood still on its lips.

Ash started crying.

" _Stop it, baby! you know, we have teeth sharp enough to take those fingers off. You should consider yourself lucky!"_ a Ratticate hissed.

Pikachu looked at the scene in horror. There were Spinarak, Spearows, Ekans, and Rattatas all gathering around him and Ash and looking angry.

"Pika Pikachu? _Please, tell us. What's wrong? Why are you attacking us?"_ Pikachu asked.

" _Don't play innocent with us, mouse,_ " an Ekans said.

" _Yeah, we know about that incident with you and the young lady," a Rattata said._

Pikachu wished he could tell Ash what was going on.

"Pika Pi Pikachu _Ash, we need to find shelter quick. These Pokemon are angry with us and want to hurt us_!" Pikachu yelled, hoping that the language barrier would somehow be breached.

As Ash and Pikachu were running, random Pokemon would jump out of the bushes and hit them with attacks. It was usually a Rattata or a Spinarak. Ash and Pikachu stopped as they were wrapped by a giant web.

"Spinarak! _Why did you hurt that girl?"_ the Spinarak asked.

Pikachu heard more commotion. A flock of Spearow were approaching and getting ready to dive bomb them.

The little mouse Pokemon climbed on top of a bush and tried to discharge an electric attack. Poor Pikachu had already used a lot of its attack power defending against the random Pokemon, though. Pikachu wondered if it was going to be enough to get them to stop attacking.

"Ouch!" Ash cried as a Spearow pecked him.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled.

Ash looked up to see the sky covered with bird Pokemon. This brought back memories.

 _It was the first day of my Pokemon journey. Pikachu and I got stopped by a flock of angry Spearow with a Fearow as their leader. I had never been so scared in all of my life until that point, but Pikachu finally thunder bolted them and saved me. Then, we became best friends._ Ash thought.

The young trainer looked at the ominous cloud of bird Pokemon, though, and decided that a repeat performance wasn't a good idea. Instead of provoking the Spearow more, he decided to just make a run for it.

Ash heard thousands of wings beating behind him and Pikachu as they tried to make their escape.

What they missed was a teeny tiny pink Pokemon floating right above the angry flock.

"Mew!" the Pokemon chirped. a blue aura surrounded Ash and he faded away from sight.

* * *

Mew was flying to her odd destination, a human hospital. She closed her eyes briefly to feel the clouds and the soft breeze as she remembered what lead her to this strange errand.

 _As she was flying, she saw a round pink Pokemon sitting on a stump and crying._

 _"She's really going to die. She's really going to die," the distressed Pokemon kept repeating._

 _Mew flew closer._

 _"Who is going to die?" Mew asked, puzzled and distressed._

 _"My human friend..." the Pokemon wailed, "the doctors say the infection is too bad...I've been telling everyone I meet about the trainer who did this to her..."_

 _"Mew?"_

 _Mew could feel the distress coming from the Blissey. She tried to put her paw on her to calm her. The minute she touched the Pokemon's head, she had a memory transferred to her._

 _There was a girl with red hair, about fourteen years old, in a class full of Chansey's. Mew giggled. It was funny to her that a human girl would go to school with Pokemon._

 _"Chansey..."_

 _"Jessie..."_

 _Mew's eyes suddenly sparkled with realization._

 _"Jessie?"_

 _Another memory suddenly flashed into her mind's eye._

 _An older woman with dark purple hair in a Team Rocket uniform held up a similar photo of a girl with the same name._

 _"This is my daughter Jessie. I'm doing all of this for her so that she can have a good life and not be poor. I would like you to come with me, please?"_

 _Of course, Mew was too smart to fall for something like that._

 _"Mew! Mew! you just want to catch me, and you know it!" Mew shouted before teleporting away._

 _She wished she hadn't. There was an avalanche just as she moved. The woman was buried in the snow. Behind the mountain, Mew saw machines with giant red R's on them. Did those machines cause the avalanche?_

 _I should have gone back and tried to help her while the machines were there, but I was too afraid of what they might do to me if they caught me. Mew thought._

 _"This is my daughter Jessie," Mew heard the words echo in her mind again. The thought that those monsters would sacrifice mothers and their children to get what they wanted. Mew decided that day that she hated Team Rocket, but what was Team Rocket? Was it the agents sent to do the mission? Was it the machines changing the environment? Was the woman who told her about her daughter a villain or...a victim?_

 _Mew decided it was the latter. Once the machines were gone, she went back and dug through the snow, looking for the body. She found the purple haired woman, cold, and almost unconscious._

 _"Why? Why did you come back for me? Go...go away...they might catch you...you don't want that, do you?"_

 _"Mew! Mew! I don't think you deserve this," Mew said._

 _"I'm...I'm sorry, I don't speak Pokemon..."_

 _"Mew! Mew! Please get up. You said you had a child to take care of! She's going to miss you!" Mew said._

 _"This is a dumb request, but it looks like I'm not going to make it. I'm too cold to move. Would you consider watching over my daughter for me? I don't know why I'm asking you. You probably aren't interested in any of my concerns."_

 _"Mew Mew I would, but I'm already responsible for many Pokemon in the area," Mew said._

 _Mew put a paw on the woman's face and tried to use recover to bring her vitals back to normal. Immediately, she saw a little girl with red hair, the same little girl in the picture._

 _Her daughter Jessie._

 _"That's really warm. I feel relaxed. Thank you," the woman said._

 _Unfortunately recover didn't work on humans like it did on Pokemon._

 _"Mew! Please try to get up!" Mew said._

 _"Well...at least I know that...you exist," the woman said weakly._

 _She put her paw on the woman again and was hit with another odd image, the dark purple haired woman feeding and taking care of Pokemon, counseling locals about the best care for their environments, treating wounded ones, and hiding them from the machines with the giant R's on them._

 _"It's okay. I...I won't let them take you. I understand. You have a family just like I do," the woman said to a Pokemon._

 _Was that right? Mew tried to bring the image up again. This time the same woman was in a laboratory looking over plans for a Pokemon super weapon. She had a look of shock and disgust on her face. She readied a Poke Ball._

 _"If Team Rocket catches Mew, they might do something terrible with it, but if I catch it, maybe there's hope; maybe I can convince them to change their minds," the woman said. Mew was jolted back to reality._

 _Soon, the woman stopped responding, and the snow started blowing in again._

 _Mew gathered from those fragments that the woman was trying to help, not hurt._

 _"I'm not beyond mistakes," Mew said as she turned to the body one last time, "I will help your daughter and the ones like her if I'm given the opportunity, to pay you back for your kindness, even though it didn't turn out the way you had hoped."_

The little psychic cat shaped Pokemon teleported away before she started crying.

Mew approached the hospital window where other Pokemon told her Jessie's room was located.

Making herself invisible, she floated in. Her telepathic senses were reading all of the energy signals in the room, including Jessie's thoughts.

 _Well, mother, it looks like I might be coming to join you soon._ Jessie thought. She winced and coughed some more. The pain in her abdomen was searing, like someone took a hot branding iron to it.

 _Just like you, if the rumors I heard were true, I lived chasing rare Pokemon, and I died by the hands of a rare Pokemon._ Jessie thought.

 _But not...not a legendary, just, just a common a common Pikachu, really. To be honest, I kind of envy that twerp. He can make friends with any Pokemon. If this were him in this condition, a legendary Pokemon would have probably already rescued him. Well, it looks like I'm not as important as I wanted to believe I was..._

Jessie shifted in her bed.

 _You know, it's funny, I've been on the receiving end of hyper beams, ice beams, fire blasts, shadow balls, psychic blasts, and thunder bolts so many times the last thing I thought would take me down would be an overzealous Pokemon attack, but Pokemon and Rockets have never gotten along, and I guess that's why they say that life isn't fair. You know, I didn't choose this life, mother; it chose me. It was either join the team or live on the streets._

 _Well, I guess if your choices are so limited, you can't blame yourself for the ones you make._

Jessie closed her eyes, weary from the pain that was tormenting her body.

Mew thought that Jessie was in a pitiful state.

"Mew!"

Weakly, Jessie opened them again.

"Mew!"

Hovering right out of reach was a small pink Pokemon.

 _I've seen that one before. Is it really in here or is that just my imagination playing tricks on me?_ Jessie thought.

 _I'm here. I'm real._ Jessie heard a thought say to her. It was a low soft voice that kind of reminded her of what she remembered of her mother.

 _Great. I'm just hallucinating._ Jessie thought.

Just then, James came into the room.

"Jessie I got you some-aghh! Jessie do you see that?" James said, pointing to Mew.

"Mew!"

"That-that's one of the rarest Pokemon in existence! If we could catch it and bring it to the boss, we-" James stopped. What was he saying? She was dying. Did it even matter that Mew was in the room?

Mew turned to James. _Please don't interrupt me with foolish notions like catching me. I simply owe a friend a favor, that's all. After I've repaid the favor, I'll be on my way._ She said to him telepathically _._

 _Again, if you want your friend to get better, don't interrupt me._ Mew repeated to James.

James sat down in his chair and gave a sigh. The rarest Pokemon in existence was in the room, and he knew not to try to catch it. He felt around for his poke belt and realized he didn't have any Poke Balls or catching supplies anyway. James sighed, remembering what happened to Jessie with Pikachu. Mew was a very powerful Pokemon; he didn't want her to change her mind and hurt them more than they already were just because they couldn't practice a little self control. Trying to catch her really would be more trouble than it was worth. Still, though, it was _Mew_. Just seeing this Pokemon was a once in a lifetime experience. James' collector side was screaming at him to do something to catch it. James sat in his chair and fidgeted, trying to fight the urge to do something he knew would be stupid, especially when Jessie was hurt so badly.

 _If I had a Poke dollar for every time something amazing like this happened to me, I-I would be richer than my nanny and pop pop._ James thought.

James fiddled with a little pen that was also a document camera.

 _I bet she won't even let me take a picture of her._ James thought.

 _Sorry, no photographs, either, even if you mean well, there are some people who do not need to know I exist._ James heard Mew's thoughts say.

 _Great, the one time I get to meet a truly rare Pokemon that doesn't try to blow me to next week is when I'm on my deathbed._ Jessie thought, sighing at the end.

"Mew! _cheer up!"_ Mew said, " _I...I wanted you to play a game with me._ "

"A game? You can't be serious," Jessie answered out loud.

"What sort of game?" James asked.

" _you'll see..."_ Mew said.

James blinked and suddenly Mew teleported a whole bunch of bubbles into the room.

" _Just pop as many as you can, but you'll have to get up to play. You can't lie in your bed or you'll miss them all,_ " Mew said, playfully.

James popped a bubble.

"Oooohhh! They're filled with water, Jessie. It's like a balloon fight!" James shouted with a little too much enthusiasm. Jessie's lavender-haired partner was rather childlike and really easy to distract.

Popping the bubble won him a glare from Mew.

James pulled away and winced a little, expecting some kind of attack.

 _I was just trying to have fun, too!_ James thought.

"In case you haven't noticed, I can't get up. The doctor's concerned I may not be able to walk again, and I'm in terrible pain," Jessie said with a slight scowl. There was something about the little pink Pokemon even being in the room that was keeping Jessie from completely losing her temper. Had this been any non-rare non-legendary, she probably would have blown a fuse at the suggestion.

Mew flew over to Jessie and started levitating her on top of some kind of energy shaped like a pink bubble.

"Mew _I said, get up!"_ Mew said.

Jessie looked around. There was a slight smile creeping on to her face.

Mew used her disable attack to stop Jessie's nerves from sending pain signals.

 _"_ What? I'm not in pain anymore," Jessie said with a little amazement in her voice.

"Mew! _Come on! Let's play!"_ Mew said.

Jessie carefully floated over to one of the bubbles and popped it, sending cold spring water showering over her. As the cold spring water hit her, memories started flashing into her mind. Something about this experience was very familiar, but she didn't know where she remembered it. She knew she had never done this before, but she couldn't shake the very familiar feeling. There was something about how this Pokemon was interacting with her-what was it?

Suddenly, she felt a sense of childlike giddiness, something she hadn't felt since-since-

 _"Jessie, come inside, you'll catch a cold!" her mother said._

 _"..but mom, this is too much fun! Come play with me!"_

Jessie stared at the Pokemon with a sudden realization.

 _Mother?_ Jessie thought.

"Mew?" the Pokemon said.

Jessie wasn't sure why, maybe it was the medicine, maybe it the rush of knowing she was going to survive, but she felt like a child again. More memories flashed into her mind as she floated over to one of the large bubbles and popped it, sending cold spring water over her wounds. She shivered, but she liked it. Then, she flew around popping bubble after bubble, each time dousing herself with spring water.

The old Jessie Team Rocket member, disappeared in the moment. She giggled and laughed, throwing bubbles to James and Mew and seeing if they could dodge them. Mew dodged them easily and sent them back to Jessie, but James ended up getting doused a few times.

 _This is what we used to do during snowball fights_ Jessie thought.

Jessie, James, and Mew played until all of the bubbles were popped.

Jessie stood up, leaned against her bed, and panted.

"I haven't had that much fun in years!" she shouted.

Images of her mother flashed in her mind. She remembered everything...so clearly now for some reason.

That's when Jessie and James noticed.

"Jessie, you're standing!" James shouted.

"Yeah, I..and I'm not in any pain, either," Jessie said.

Jessie was still feeling childlike and happy. She decided to do a victory dance with James.

Mew then took that as her cue to disappear. She became transparent and continued to watch the two Rockets.

They were laughing, and they were happy. It looked like the spring water from the heal spring had worked its magic.

Jessie stopped giggling and celebrating when she realized something was missing.

"Hey! Where did Mew go?" Jessie asked. Her expression looked like one of slight hurt.

Another memory flashed in her mind.

 _"Don't go, mommy!" Jessie said._

 _Her mother scooped her up in her arms, hugged her and laughed._

 _"I'll be back soon, honey!" her mother said._

 _I never saw her after that day._

Jessie didn't notice a tiny tear creeping down her cheek.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, what was all of the noise about?" Butch asked.

"We heard you two all the way out here," Cassidy said.

"Well, it looks like the stories about your injuries were exaggerated," Butch said.

"You look fine to us," Cassidy said.

Jessie and James clutched each other and smiled.

"That's because we're..." Jessie said.

"The unshakable..." James said.

"unbreakable..." Jessie said.

"and totally capable..." James said.

"Team Rocket!" Jessie and James said.

The two stood in a dramatic pose with hands out to make an R symbol.

Mew felt a little tightness in her stomach. She knew she should get out. If they weren't thinking about catching her earlier, they would be now and might even have the means to do it.

A little smile crept on to her face as she exited through the window. Bad guys or not, they deserved a happy ending, too, didn't they?

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu found themselves at the Pokemon center with no recollection of how they got there.

"Whoa!" Ash said, "Pikachu, are you alright?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said, smiling and cooing at the end.

Outside, there was a tiny gathering of Pokemon growling at the young trainer.

"I really wish I knew what their problem was," Ash said.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu said in an understanding tone.

Just then, Meowth walked by and huffed at Ash.

"Dey're mad at youse guys because you broke da Pokemon code," Meowth said.

"Hey, what are you still doing here-Pokemon code?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu? _I've never heard of that_ ," Pikachu said.

"It's a code wild Pokemon have with trainers dat allows 'em ta catch 'em," Meowth said, "you break it by abusing or misusing Pokemon," Meowth said.

"Pika? _are you sure you aren't lying to us, Meowth?"_ Pikachu asked.

"An when youse do, you can expect some odd consequences, such as not being able ta catch Pokemon or havin dem attack youse outta da blue," Meowth said.

Meowth smiled inwardly as he saw the color drain from Ash's cheeks. He was about to lay it on as heavy as he could, and he was so thankful that Blissey had the naivety to tell every Pokemon in the area what happened. The twerp's day was sure to be ruined. Meowth was hoping his life would be.

"But...but if I broke the Pokemon code, isn't there a way to fix it?" Ash asked.

"I don't know. It's really rare for trainers ta break da Pokemon code. Dey haf ta do somthin really bad, like almost kill a Pokemon afta tryin ta befriend it. It's the ultimate sign of distrust," Meowth said. The cat Pokemon's eyes were shining as his inward smile became bigger and bigger. Still, though, he tried to keep a straight face.

"Pika...chu chu Pika pi _but that's not Ash at all! He would never hurt a Pokemon!"_ Pikachu said.

"Oh yeah, well, it can also happen if you hurt a Pokemon's friend. It just depends on who's dere as da witness," Meowth said.

"Pika chu _that still doesn't..."_ Pikachu cut himself off.

" _There's the Pikachu who almost killed that poor defenseless girl. My buddy told me all about it!_ " Pikachu heard a Pokemon say.

Pikachu froze.

Ash looked sick. He took Pikachu and walked away. Meowth smiled a Cheshire cat grin at Ash's back as he imagined the seeds of worry taking root.

James, who was hiding behind a newspaper the whole time, spoke up when Ash was out of hearing range.

"I've never heard of a wild Pokemon code, Meowth. How did we manage to not break it? Is that why we usually have such bad luck?" James asked in a whisper.

"Relax, dare ain't no wild Pokemon code. We started a rumor mill around da Pokemon center ta get back at da kid an da Pikachu. Sadly, nutin else is affected. Da kid could walk a few miles from here an catch all da Pokemon he wants. I just wanted ta make 'em tank he couldn't," Meowth said.

"Are wild Pokemon really attacking him?" James asked.

"It's just a few of the friends da pink Chansey look-alike has, dat's all. Dey agreed ta scare 'em a little," Meowth said.

"Oh," James said, "I was kind of worried, considering how Jessie is just recovering and all. The last thing we need is a bunch of wild Pokemon attacking us for past wrongs."

James sighed.

"Still, though, that sounds really drastic. Are you sure you should have done that? I mean, I would be terrified if wild Pokemon just randomly started attacking me," James said.

"I've been feelin more underhanded than usual after what happened ta Jessie," Meowth said, "how is she, anyway?"

"Much better," James said.

"Do you tink she's gonna live?" Meowth asked.

"She's walking at least," James said.

"Jimmy, youse been answerin me kinda short. Did anyting happen dat youse wanna talk about?" Meowth asked.

James sighed.

"Something did happen, and it's related to Jessie's recovery. I'll tell you later, though," James said.

"Is it good news?" Meowth asked.

"Jessie's doing a lot better; she'll probably be released in just a few days; there's more to this story, though, and I'll save it for later," James said.

Just then, James saw an angry Rattata in the window.

"What's it saying, Meowth?"

Meowth smiled and laughed.

"It's sayin' 'bring out da kid an da Pikachu," Meowth said.

James shuddered.

"I'm usually only mildly concerned for my enemy, but...is there a way to undo this little misunderstanding, in case it backfires?" James asked.

"Nya, it's just a rumor. It'll clear itself up in a few days, especially if dey find out dat Jessie is doing okay," Meowth said.

"Do most of them even know who Jessie is?" James asked.

"Jus leave da talkin ta me, Jimmy," Meowth said.


	3. Chapter 3

Ash fell on his bed and started shivering in a cold sweat. His throat felt dry; his stomach was queasy. The preteen winced and shivered.

Pikachu curled up with him and Ash found himself in a fitful midday slumber. Normally he would be out trying to catch Pokemon, but the events of that morning had him spooked. Meowth's words echoed in his ears as he tried to find rest.

 _Ash woke up in his room in Pallet Town._

 _"How did I get here?" Ash asked. Looking around the room, Ash found something a little off. There were no Pokemon cards, no posters, no Poke Balls._

 _Where's Pikachu? Ash thought._

 _Ash ran downstairs calling for Pikachu._

 _"Pikachu's at Professor Oak's, honey," Ash's mom said. There was a look of concern on his face._

 _"Oh thanks!" Ash said. Something was missing from his house. Ash looked around and saw his mom doing chores, but...where was Mimey?_

 _"Ash, wait, let me call Professor Oak so that he can he can be prepared for you..." Ash's mom said, "after all, we don't want any incidents."_

 _"What do you mean incidents?" Ash asked. It was strange. There were no Pokemon anywhere, not even a Pidgey in the garden._

 _"Be sure to take some repels with you before you go. Remember what happened last time!" Ash's mom said._

 _Repels? Why would I need to take repels with me when I'm on a path? Ash wondered._

 _Ash started to Professor Oak's as normal, but then he heard growling in the distance. Ash quickly sprayed some repel to keep them away, but he still heard the growling. They were Pokemon, but Ash didn't know what kinds. They were keeping themselves well hidden and keeping an eye on him. Every now and then, he would find a little cut or bruise on himself that seemed like a Pokemon bite or scratch. Ash was getting more and more nervous. The Pokemon were attacking him but they weren't even letting him see them._

 _Well, there are Pokemon at Professor Oak's place. I can at least see some there._

 _Ash walked in. Professor Oak had his arms crossed and sort of a look of disappointment on his face._

 _"Ash, what brings you to my lab? I don't mean to be rude, but I had work to do today," Professor Oak said._

 _"Sorry Professor, I...really just wanted to see some of my neat Pokemon," Ash said._

 _"Very funny..." Professor Oak said._

 _"What do you mean, Professor?" Ash asked._

 _"They were all released a year ago. They stopped obeying you, remember?" Professor Oak said._

 _"They stopped, what?" Ash asked._

 _"I don't know what you did to them, but some of them were very angry with you. We had to make you get rid of them for your own protection," Professor Oak said._

 _"What? Well, could I at least see some new Pokemon, then?" Ash asked._

 _"I'm afraid not. See, we revoked your Pokemon trainer's license after we heard about how you mistreated Pikachu," Professor Oak said, "it's against the law for you to own your own Pokemon."_

 _Ash did an anime fall and groaned._

 _"WHAT? Pikachu, what about Pikachu?" Ash asked, "I have to see Pikachu."_

 _"Very well, but it stopped obeying you like the rest," Professor Oak said._

 _Professor Oak led Ash to an electricity proof booth._

 _"What's this for?" Ash asked._

 _"This is the only way for you to safely interact with him," Professor Oak said._

 _A door was released and out waddled the little electric mouse._

 _"Pikachu!" Ash cried._

 _Upon hearing Ash, the little mouse sparked its cheeks, growled, and discharged electricity straight at the safety enclosure. Electricity hit the enclosure again and again._

 _"Ash, I think we're going to have to stop. Pikachu's getting tired out. I can't allow it to continue to attack to exhaustion," Professor Oak said._

 _"But, why is it attacking me?" Ash cried, "Pikachu, don't you remember me? I'm I'm your friend..." Ash said._

Ash was breathing heavily and talking in his sleep.

"Pika?"

"Agghh!" Ash screamed expecting a shock. The young Pokemon trainer stumbled out of bed and fell on the floor.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu yelled as it bounded toward its trainer.

Ash, remembering the nightmare, jumped back, half expecting to get shocked.

Pikachu leaped into his arms and patted his face.

Ash was breathing heavily.

"It...it was just...just a dream?" Ash said.

"Pikachu," Ash's Pokemon cooed.

Outside, Ash heard the sound of other Pokemon growling.

"Pikachu, we have to go out there and find out why the other Pokemon are doing this!" Ash said.

Pikachu shook its head.

"No? We shouldn't go out there?" Ash asked, getting more and more nervous by the minute.

"Pikachu, I need to find out what's causing this, how to fix the Pokemon code so that I can continue my Pokemon journey. I-I don't want you all to start turning on me..." Ash said shuddering at the end.

Pikachu put his paw on Ash's face. Ash flinched.

"Pikachu...Pika pika chu chu pika..." Pikachu said as he continued to pat Ash's face.

"Are you saying-saying that it's all going to be okay?" Ash asked.

"Chu chu," the mouse cooed.

Ash relaxed and sat back on his bed. Suddenly paper rustled in the corner. It was a young Rattata.

"Oh, hi there!" Ash greeted.

"Rattata!" the Pokemon yelled as it bared its glowing fangs.

"It's preparing for a hyper fang attack!" Ash yelled.

Ash saw a flash of yellow as Pikachu leaped into action.

"Pika...CHU!" the little mouse yelled.

Crackling bolts of electricity hit the offending Pokemon. When the smoke cleared, it was completely paralyzed.

"Thanks," Ash said timidly. The boy was still unsure of what was going on.

"Pik!" Pikachu yelled as it dove into his backpack.

"Uh, what are you doing, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

After about fifteen seconds, Pikachu reappeared carrying an empty Poke Ball between its two paws.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu said.

Ash smiled nervously.

Pikachu casually tossed the Poke Ball at the Rattata, the light flickered, and the familiar "click" sounded.

"Wow! you just a caught a Rattata, Pikachu!" Ash said.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu said.

Ash looked around nervously and put his hand behind his head.

"Wait, wasn't I supposed to do that?" Ash asked.

Pikachu did an anime fall.

After Pikachu pulled himself back up, he released the Rattata.

* * *

Pikachu was through with Ash almost being afraid of his own shadow because of some stupid thing Meowth of Team Rocket said; he was getting to the bottom of this right here and right now.

"Rattata? _hey, what did you do that for?"_ the Rattata asked.

"Pika...chu... _may I introduce your new trainer?"_ Pikachu said.

The Rattata took one look at Ash and bared its fangs.

Sparks came from Pikachu's cheeks in warning.

"Pikachu _I wouldn't try that if I were you..."_ Pikachu warned.

The Rattata slowly backed away and hid behind Ash's pillow.

" _Look, look just stay away, okay? I don't want any trouble_ ," the terrified Rattata squeaked.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.

" _My friends all told me about about the trainer who goes around shocking and killing Pokemon for fun. I'm terrified, okay. That-that's why I attacked. It was self defense, I promise! Please, please let me go,"_ the Rattata said.

"Pikachu pika pikachu _we would never do that to you, really!"_ Pikachu said.

 _"Then, then why did you almost kill that girl? Man, I know she was probably a criminal, but from what the other guys are sayin, your trainer practically executed her. I-I don't want any part a dat!"_ the Rattata said.

"Pika Pikachu _did you see any of this for yourself?"_ Pikachu asked.

 _"No man, but my friends told me. They told me to be on the lookout for you, and now, now you own me!_ " the Rattata said with a cry.

"Pikachu Pika Pikachu _you're safe with us. We just need to know who started the story about us being really bad people because, believe it or not, we aren't,"_ Pikachu said.

 _"I don't know for sure, but-but I think it was a Meowth and some kind of pink thing. I saw 'em walking around da hospital where the pink thing started crying. I mean she was really crying, like-like she had lost a dear friend,_ " the Rattata said.

"Pikachu? _a Meowth, you say?"_ Pikachu said, "d _id this Meowth walk on two legs by any chance?_ "

 _"Yeah, now that you mentioned it, and this might be weird, but I think he was speaking English_ ," the Rattata said.

"Pika pikachu _listen, that's Meowth of Team Rocket, he's not a good Pokemon, not in the least; he's very very bad. My trainer and I have a lot of experience with him; he loves to tell lies to other Pokemon to try to trick them into falling for his friends' tricks. The best thing is to just not listen to him. Pretend he doesn't even speak Pokemon,"_ Pikachu said, " _if you listen, he'll try to convince you to work with him and his friends. His friends are other members of Team Rocket, and all they do is try to catch rare Pokemon to sell to the highest bidder,"_ Pikachu said.

 _"Poachers, eh?"_ the Rattata said, _"that sounds believable, but it still doesn't explain the pink thing. She works with Nurse Joy. That much I know. Are you saying she was part of this, too?"_

 _"I'm saying that Meowth has a way with his words. He can persuade Pokemon who aren't familiar with his tricks. If I had to guess, that's what happened this time,"_ Pikachu said.

" _I don't know. All I know is I've been hearing about a spiky haired trainer and a Pikachu who fought a girl-a girl not a Pokemon, a human girl, so hard that it put her in the hospital. I don't understand why anyone would do such a thing,"_ the Rattata said.

Pikachu felt nervous but tried not to show it.

 _"Right, but it's what you heard, not necessarily what happened. What my trainer and I are trying to figure out is what happened. How did this story get started? It's been causing him a lot of distress. He hasn't even been catching Pokemon recently because of fear of being attacked,"_ Pikachu said.

The Rattata looked at Ash.

 _"Do you think it's fair for all of these Pokemon to gang up on us just because of a story? It might not even be us, just someone who looks like us,"_ Pikachu said.

 _"No-no it's not fair. It's about as fair as what happened to that girl,_ " the Rattata said.

 _"Then, if you agree that it isn't fair, I want you to do two things for me. One, stay with us and help us figure out what's actually going on. I'll tell my trainer to release you if you don't want to go to Professor Oak's lab, and two, please don't act scared toward my trainer. I promise he's a good kid, and Ash has literally been afraid of Pokemon because of what the other Pokemon have been doing to us, and this might all be a case of mistaken identity_ ," Pikachu said.

 _"When-when you put it that way, I-I guess I can_ ," the Rattata said, "but d-don't give me a r-reason t-to n-not f-feel s-safe," the Rattata said.

"Pikachu _you have my promise,"_ Pikachu said.

Once the conversation ended, the Rattata made a bee line for Ash. Ash flinched as it landed on its chest.

Pikachu watched as his trainer winced, expecting an attack. Thankfully, an attack never came.

"Rattata!" the Pokemon cried.

Ash carefully put his hand on the soft lavender fur.

"Alright! I kind of thought that maybe... ha ha ha...maybe you're going to find this funny, but I kinda thought I would never get to do this again," Ash said.

"Rattata!"

"Pikachu!"

* * *

Ash wasn't the only one who was having trouble sleeping. Since Jessie was still in the hospital, they weren't chasing Pikachu, and Meowth lay down for a midday catnap. Unfortunately, his guilty conscience followed him to his dreams.

 _It was completely dark. There was nothing that the cat Pokemon could see, even though cat Pokemon typically have very good vision._

 _"Where am I?" Meowth asked._

 _"You are in the void," a voice said._

 _"Da void? What's da void?" Meowth asked._

 _"It's a place of punishment for Pokemon who have chosen to do evil," a voice said._

 _"Oh," Meowth said as he sat down, "well, at least I...hey, where are my friends?" Meowth asked._

 _Just then, a blinding flash was seen._

 _Standing before the cat Pokemon were many of the legendary guardian Pokemon he had encountered: Lugia, Ho-Oh, Entei, Suicune, Raikou, and Celebi._

 _As Meowth looked at the Pokemon, a memory flashed before him._

 _"We're blasting off for the last time!" Jessie and James yelled as they were hurled toward the sun. A loud otherworldly Pokemon roar was coming somewhere in the distance._

 _"Nooo!" Meowth yelled as he watched them fly to their doom._

 _"You deceived us!" the roar said._

 _Meowth looked and there stood Lugia, the one they helped Ash save from those legendary birds once upon a time, but there was something wrong with it this time. It was covered in some kind of dark shadowy goo, and its coloration was all wrong. It also had an evil glare in its eye. Without care, it unleashed a hyperbeam into a crowd of people. Meowth realized he was standing in the hyper beam. The cat Pokemon tried to get away, but it was too late. It hit him dead on._

 _The next, was Entei. It had this same strange coloration, and it was burning down a village._

 _Meowth wondered where Ho-Oh was and why it wasn't being stopped. Just then, Meowth got his answer, across a blackened sky streaked Ho-Oh, but this one had completely gray feathers. It's eyes were also completely black, a strange soulless black that didn't even give off any light. Meowth shuddered._

 _Next, was Suicune. It was swimming in polluted water and had all kinds of sores on it. It howled in pain. Meowth scanned the area. The forest was dead. The heal spring could no longer give life._

 _Then, Raikou was hiding far in the mountains. It was the color of a storm cloud, as black as the Ho-Oh he saw earlier. It was viciously kicking up storm clouds and striking people with lightning._

 _Now, Celebi, she was in a test tube in some kind of laboratory. She was graying and wilted. Meowth winced as he saw someone pick off one of her rotten leaves and discard it like it was nothing. They were thinking about just throwing her away because they couldn't get any use out of her. She had lost her forest powers and become corrupted, and the corruption was causing her skin to wilt._

 _The very last was Mew, the one who took him and Pikachu to the tree of beginning when she thought they were injured. She was the one legendary who never hurt anyone. Now, though, she was hooked up to test tubes, and instead of a usual pink or white, her fur had a grayish tint, and she had a terrible look on her face, like she was angry with the world._

 _In another test tube, no many rows of test tubes, there were other mangled looking copies of her. Meowth heard familiar voices._

 _"This is the last batch of attempts we get to make with her. Her DNA is played out." Butch said._

 _"Well, let's make this attempt a good one!"_

 _That voice, it was it was so familiar. Was that James? No, it couldn't be James. He cared about Pokemon, or at least he wouldn't do something like this._

 _"She's dying you insensitive fool!" Meowth tried to yell._

 _"Ha ha ha!"_

 _Another voice, oh no, was that Jessie with Cassidy?_

 _"Prepare for trouble and make it double. Team Rocket's taken over the world!"_

 _Suddenly, Arceus appeared, but even he looked strange. The king of Pokemon looked angrier than ever, and he was missing...all of his plates._

 _The dream changed again._

 _Meowth was now staring at a tombstone._

 _"Here lies Ash Ketchum. The last hope for Pokemon kind,"_

 _Meowth tried to move, but suddenly bars closed in around him._

 _"I figured you could help our organization after all, Meowth," a woman's voice said._

 _Without warning, the cat Pokemon was stuck with a needle and a probe was placed under his skin. The cat Pokemon tried to talk and scream his displeasure but all that came out was, "Meowth!"_

 _It was dark again._

 _Suddenly, the tree of beginning reappeared. Meowth remembered this place._

 _Mew appeared_

 _"Is this the fate you want for the world and for your friends?" Mew asked._

 _Before Meowth could answer, he was sucked into a giant black void._

"Rattata!"

Meowth was awakened from his fitful sleep by the chattering and chirping of angry Pokemon.

"Okay, okay, dis has ta stop," Meowth said to the air.

Just then, the Rocket phone rang and Meowth almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hello?" Meowth asked.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello?"

Jessie and James saw Meowth's cute little furry head appear on screen.

"Meowth, James told me about your little prank. There are some things that are so bad even we won't do them and this is one them. Crush that rumor immediately," Jessie ordered.

"It ain't gonna be dat easy," Meowth said.

"What do you mean? Do you need my help? I'm an expert at squashing rumors," Jessie said.

"...and starting them," James added.

"Well, see, I wasn't da one who started it," Meowth said.

"What? then who?" Jessie growled.

"It was Blissey..." Meowth said.

Jessie's whole demeanor suddenly changed. If she could have pulled Meowth through the screen and given him a thrashing, James knew she would have done it.

"You tricked Blissey my sweet innocent Blissey who I took the fall for something I didn't even do so that she could keep her job into starting a rumor?" Jessie asked. Her tone told James that she was infuriated.

"It...it wasn't like dat!" Meowth said, "she was just really concerned about youse an she couldn't keep from runnin her mouth ta every Pokemon she came in contact wit," Meowth said.

"Oh come on, I know you, you probably added a lot to that story, didn't you?" Jessie asked.

"Um...maybe just a little bit," Meowth said with a wince.

"Well, regardless, it's out there, and a good piece of gossip is like a forest fire-it spreads until something puts it out," Jessie said.

"...and if it doesn't get put out, there can be serious consequences," James said.

"...and if Blissey gets hurt because of this, I won't forget it, Meowth," Jessie said.

"I realize you were concerned and you thought this was a good way to get back at them, but these things almost always backfire," James said.

"Look, I want to crush this thing as badly as you do, but I can't figure out how. Blissey more or less told da Rattatas da truth..." Meowth said.

"Then we have to figure out a way to make them think it was all a lie," Jessie said.

"How da we do dat?" Meowth asked.

"Leave that to us. Deceit is our specialty," James said.

"We'll rendevous tomorrow and come up with a plan,"

The Rocket video phone closed, and Jessie and James looked at each other.

"We have to stop this, James. If the twerp is too afraid to catch Pokemon, we won't be able to steal them from him," Jessie said.

James nodded.

"Plus, I can't believe Meowth told a rumor to a group of Rattata. Everyone knows they can't keep a secret," Jessie said.

James put his hand to his forehead. He knew that she was in one of her moods. What was coming out of her mouth now may not have any real meaning, but you had better not argue with her.

"Believe it or not, I don't think that's common knowledge unless you went to school with Pokemon," James said in a cutely irritated voice.

Jessie sat smugly, apparently pleased with herself for forcing him to give her a complement.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. A familiar set of people, one with green hair and the other with blonde hair stepped in.

"Oh, if it isn't Cassidy and, hmm, what was your name again?" Jessie teased.

Butch did an anime fall.

"Very funny; it's Butch and you know it!" Butch said.

James just watched the two and sighed.

 _It looks like it's going to be one of those nights._ James thought.

"These are your discharge papers," Butch said .

"The boss says that you are healthy enough to get out of here. You can continue your recovery at a base hospital," Cassidy said.

"Oh, and uh, this is a letter for you. I think it's a new assignment from the boss," Butch said.

James took the letter and excitedly opened it. He let out a little squeal.

"Oh it says that-" James was cut off.

Jessie snatched the letter out of his hand and began reading.

"It says that he wants us to catch the twerp's Pikachu..." Jessie said, her voice dropping in disappointment at the end.

James did an anime fall.

"Don't they know we were nearly killed trying to do that?" James said, "who do I need to talk to for a temporary reassignment?"

Cassidy and Butch laughed.

"Well, at least you're not doing the stuff we're doing. Try trying to catch a Lugia or a Moltres!" Butch said.

"You are not supposed to tell them about our missions, Biff!" Cassidy said.

"It's Butch, and they were there during these missions, so I didn't think it really matters," Butch said.

"They were there as uninvited guests," Cassidy said, "dressing up as grunts, releasing a kid, and claiming to be 'superheroes' Did you two lose your minds that day, Jessy, Jess?"

Jessie's mouth hung open.

"You...know about that?" Jessie said.

"We did have surveillance tapes you know!" Butch said.

"Well, last time I checked, kidnapping isn't in our code of conduct," Jessie said matter-of-factly.

"The boss could have had your head for that," Butch said.

"...and he can still have your head if you show him those tapes. Check the handbook if you don't believe me," Jessie said with a smirk.

"Well, I was in the mood to show some rare camaraderie to my fellow teammate, but you have killed that mood," Cassidy said.

"Consider our stopping your plans as some free training experience. If we can get in, it's probably not gonna stop the good guys, either," Jessie said.

"You're the ones who constantly struggle to catch one Pikachu," Cassidy said.

"You don't know what you're talking about. That Pikachu is more powerful than Zapdos!" James said.

"...and I guess you should know, because you were once a Moltres!" Butch teased.

James blushed.

"If we were that incompetent we would probably be demoted back to grunts by now! I don't know how you constantly trick everyone into believing you're competent!" Cassidy said.

"I used to be a Team Rocket admin, so I like to think I actually am competent," Jessie said. She said it with so much confidence it was like she believed it.

"You used to be-" Butch stopped and blinked a few times, then he started laughing. Cassidy joined in.

"Jessy, Jess, if you're going to try to tell a lie, at least make it believable," Cassidy said.

"Yeah, right! You were in training with us, remember? We became Rockets around the same time!" Butch said.

"If you were an admin, what happened, then, Jessy Jess?" Cassidy said with a playful teasing expression.

"That's-none of your business!" Jessie said, getting angrier by the minute.

James was reading her face, and he would have known she was bluffing even if he didn't know the story. They were never made into admins, at least not officially.

"Well, best be going. You two are always good for a laugh," Butch said.

Cassidy grabbed Butch's shoulder, but Butch stopped at the door, paused, and turned back to Jessie and James.

"You know, I'm just going to give this to you anyway, even though you probably don't deserve it," Butch said.

Butch produced a black box. James took the parcel from Butch and eyed it suspiciously.

"No, it's not a bomb. We actually felt sorry for you getting beaten up by a tiny Pikachu, so we stopped by Dr. Namba's and got you some real Rocket technology," Butch said.

"Go on and open it up," Cassidy said.

James obeyed and opened the parcel. Inside were two jet black Poke Balls with a red R in the center.

"Oh, Poke Balls!" James said.

"Not just any Poke Balls. Those are special shadow Poke Balls," Butch said.

"It turns any Pokemon caught by them into a shadow Pokemon," Cassidy said.

"A shadow Pokemon?" James asked.

"Shadow Pokemon are...well, just try it out!" Cassidy said, trying to conceal an evil laugh.

Jessie took one of the Poke Balls out and scanned the enclosed pamphlet.

"Ha!" Jessie said, "I thought you said you weren't trying to kill me."

"Huh?" Cassidy asked.

"What do you mean?" Butch said.

"Shadow Pokemon are the most aggressive Pokemon. Their attacks are way stronger than regular Pokemon, and they're fueled by pure hatred. Sure, it sounds nice, but it's not," Jessie said.

"A Pokemon caught by that Poke Ball will be a strong reliable Pokemon, and it's got a ninety-nine percent catch rate," Butch said.

"Have you ever used any shadow Pokemon in your party?" Jessie asked.

"Well...no, but, as a capture device..." Cassidy said.

"It's not like you're gonna keep what you catch. Sometimes I wonder if you even know how this works," Butch said.

Jessie sighed.

"I see we aren't getting anywhere with this argument," Jessie said.

"Gah! Even when I try to be nice to you, you find an excuse to...ooh," Cassidy said.

"What's a matter, Cass, the Persian got your tongue?" Jessie said.

"Let's go, Butch!" Cassidy said.

"You need to learn how to be grateful for help, Jessie, it's just a tip!" Butch said before closing the door.

Once Butch and Cassidy were outside the door, they started giggling and laughing maniacally.

"They absolutely fell for that," Cassidy said.

"I know. That was too easy," Butch said.

"...but, to be fair, part of me would have missed Jessy Jess had she not gotten better. What fun is a rivalry when you don't have a rival?" Cassidy said.

"You tried to kill her before. You call that a rivalry? You know, doll, you might want to look into anger management, just a suggestion," Butch said.

Cassidy scowled at Butch and sighed. _I'm not Jessy Jess, so I'm not going to let that upset me._ Cassidy thought.

"Anyway, let's look at that tape," Cassidy said.

Butch and Cassidy retreated to a nearby park to watch the footage they had secretly taken from Jessie's hospital room.

"It turns out Jess and Jimmy aren't the only ones willing to bend the rules to get what they want," Butch said with an evil smirk as he turned on the Rocket PC.

"Let's find out what our old friends have been up to," Cassidy said.

Butch and Cassidy played the footage.

"Ooohhh!" Jessie groaned.

"Jessy Jess was always the drama queen," Cassidy said.

"I dunno, she looks pretty bad here..." Butch said.

Just then, something...entered the window. It was only there for a split second. The footage then blinked out and cut to images of Jessie and James dancing with each other.

"What was that thing, Butch?" Cassidy asked.

"It...looked like a Pokemon," Butch said.

"What kind of Pokemon?" Cassidy asked.

"A rare one, that's for sure," Butch said.

"Why would it be visiting Jessy Jess?" Cassidy asked.

"Maybe it got lost?" Butch suggested.

"I think we should get this footage to Dr. Namba. Maybe he can shed more light on it?" Cassidy suggested.

"Sure, and while you're doing that, I think I'm going to watch a little more of Jess and Jim's home videos," Butch said with a laugh.

That parcel they delivered didn't only contain shadow Poke Balls but also a tiny hidden camera that could evade electrical detection. Butch and Cassidy were assigned to keep tabs on Jessie and James to make sure they were following the boss's orders.

The screen flickered again.

"James, our footage doesn't show the twerp out training," Jessie said.

"That's odd for him. I wonder if it's related to that rumor Meowth started," James said.

"What rumor?" Jessie said.

"Meowth told a convincing lie that the kid broke the wild Pokemon code," James said

"Wild Pokemon code? Explain James?" Jessie said.

"Well, Meowth told him that he broke the wild Pokemon code, but in reality this was all the product of a nasty rumor he started with some wild Pokemon around the Pokemon center to get back at that kid for hurting you," James said, "it's still ingeniously evil, though, and making me shudder."

"What did this rumor do exactly?" Jessie said.

"Meowth says he tried to convince him that he could no longer catch wild Pokemon and even convinced a few Pokemon to attack him for no reason," James said.

"...and it worked?" Jessie said.

James nodded his head.

"James, that's terrible," Jessie said, "if he doesn't train Pokemon, we have nothing to steal."

 _Wild Pokemon code? I need to tell Cassidy about this!_

Butch continued to watch the footage and slowly put the pieces together. It appears that it was Ash who put Jessie in the hospital to begin with. This was just too perfect. If he and Cassidy played their cards right, they could have Jess, Jim, and Ash as sitting targets. The boss would promote them for sure!

* * *

Meanwhile, Cassidy was on a Rocket video call with Dr. Namba.

"I sent you the footage. What can you tell us?" Cassidy asked.

"I can't be sure, but it looks like the rare Pokemon Mew," Dr. Namba said.

"Mew, huh? That Pokemon must be worth a lot," Cassidy said.

"It's worthless to me," Dr. Namba said.

Cassidy did an anime fall.

"Worthless, sir?" Cassidy asked.

"It's a very powerful Pokemon, but that Pokemon doesn't have a mean thought in all of its mind. All it does is play games and make friends. It's the exact opposite of anything I want! It probably wouldn't even recognize _you_ as a threat. There's a rumor that we once tried to harvest the power of Mew through cloning its DNA and mixing it with something more shadowy and sinister, but I don't know how that worked out," Dr. Namba said.

"...but, if we could catch Mew, surely we could find some way to harvest its power?" Cassidy said.

"Perhaps, if we could drain it of all of its love and playfulness, maybe we would be left with something useful. Maybe, but for me, it's too much work than it's worth," Dr. Namba said, "I've heard of a project they had going with Mew, but I assume it was discontinued. I never heard if it was successful or not."

"Thank you, Dr. Namba," Cassidy said.

"Anyway, I'm busy with my shadow Pokemon generation research and must get back to work. Use those Poke Balls I gave you and send me your findings, as well as any Pokemon you manage to catch with them," Dr. Namba said.

"Sure thing," Cassidy said.

She closed the video phone and rejoined Butch.

"Cassidy, I think you might want to take a look at this. It turns out we might have the scam of the century we can pull," Butch said.

Butch explained everything he saw on the video earlier to Cassidy.

"This couldn't be more _perfect_ ," Cassidy said with an evil smile.

"I know. I don't usually get involved with the law, but if we could sue the kid and take away his trainer's license temporarily, we could seize all of his Pokemon by having them transferred to one of the secret Rocket breeding centers "for safe keeping," Butch said with a laugh.

"The problem, though, is I don't think Jessy Jess would go for it," Cassidy said.

"Who needs those losers? We'll frame it like the kid's a menace. Jessie and Jim already said they started a rumor," Butch said.

"Yes, a Pokemon rumor, whatever that is," Cassidy said, "let's see what we can do."

Butch and Cassidy laughed evilly.


End file.
